August 2012 by Franklin D. McMillan, DVM, DACVIM

Animals entering shelters after being rescued from life in a puppy mill or hoarding environment may be afflicted with numerous physical and psychological health problems at varying levels of severity. Dr. Franklin D. McMillan, DVM, DACVIM, Director of Well-Being Studies at Best Friends Animal Society, presents Physical and Psychological Health Issues in Puppy Mill and Hoarding Rescues at the University of Florida's Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Conference 2012.

The presentation covers an array of important physical and psycho-behavioral conditions exhibited by these animals that require therapeutic and rehabilitative intervention. Special attention will be paid to the impact on the change in the animal's environment - leaving the familiar and entering a threateningly unfamiliar world.

Learning Objectives:

Become well prepared for what to expect when taking animals from a rescued puppy mill or hoarding situation into the shelter.

Understand the traumatizing potential of an extreme change in environment and how to lessen the adverse impact.

Gain a better understanding of the positive physical and psychological health outcomes that can be achieved such that premature judgements of a poor prognosis may be averted.

Franklin D. McMillan, DVM, DACVIM

Dr. McMillan graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Ohio State University in 1981, and following graduation he completed an internship and residency in small animal internal medicine at the University of California, Davis. Subsequently, Dr. McMillan was in private practice in Los Angeles for 23 years before becoming a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine. In 2007 he took a position at Best Friends Animal Society.

The focus of Dr. McMillan's studies is the mental health and emotional well-being of animals who have endured psychological trauma, such as abuse, hoarding, puppy mills, dogfighting and natural disasters. Dr. McMillan is the editor and co-author of the book, Mental Health and Well-Being in Animals.